The invention relates to a method of sealing a steam chamber of a steam iron, which steam chamber is bounded by a soleplate and a metal cover plate, the soleplate being formed with a groove, after which contact surfaces of the cover plate and the soleplate at the location of the groove are connected to one another by means of a pressing tool.
Such a method is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,711,010. In this steam iron a groove is formed in an upper edge of an upright wall of the soleplate, which bounds the steam chamber. By applying pressure to the cover plate, portions of the cover plate are forced into the groove, as a result of which a sealing is obtained between the cover plate and the upright wall of the steam chamber. For this purpose the cover plate is made of a material whose yield limit is lower than that of soleplate material. In order to ensure a satisfactory sealing with this method the groove should have a cross-sectional shape of a trapezoidal dovetail. Making such a groove is often very difficult. For this process the cover plate should be comparatively thick in order to achieve a correct deformation of the material. The disadvantage of a thick cover plate is that differences in shrinkage result in substantial forces at the contact surfaces.